Leading healthcare provider, ProCare, has today welcomed the Smokefree Environments Bill passing its Third Reading in the House last night, meaning the Bill will now pass into law.

ProCare believes this change in legislation will make a significant difference to the lives of thousands of whānau, but most importantly, this will save lives, protect our future generations from diseases such as lung cancer and ensure significant healthcare savings are made.

Bindi Norwell, Group Chief Executive Officer at ProCare says: “We are delighted the Bill passed its Third Reading in the House last night, as since the Bill was introduced in July, there have been many objectors to this piece of legislation.

“The fact that tobacco can’t be sold to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 is wonderful news and these measures will go a long way to protecting our young people so that they don’t suffer the same issues previous generations have had to endure as a result of smoking. It will also help to ensure they never start smoking in the first place, thereby preventing them from potentially living with a lifetime of tobacco addiction,” continues Norwell.

“However, as we raised in our submission, we would like to see further investment in smoking cessation programmes to help support those who are already addicted to tobacco. This is essential if we want to have a smokefree Aotearoa by 2025,” concludes Norwell.

Mihi Blair, Kaiwhakahaere Hauora Māori, Mana Taurite (GM of Māori Health and Equity), at ProCare says: “Having only 600 retail stores able to sell tobacco is a significant achievement by the government. We know that this will be hard on those who are struggling to become smokefree, but there are services such as ProCare’s Ready Steady Quit, who are there to support our community who need help to transition into a smokefree life.

“Tobacco has been a generational killer on Māori and Pasifika and too many of us have lost loved ones from the impacts of smoking. Our vision is to have a future smokefree generation and a thriving whakapapa,” she continues.

“We look forward to the Government working closely with iwi, Māori leaders and healthcare providers as this legislation is rolled out across the country to ensure a Te Tiriti based approach is taken,” concludes Blair.